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MetaTutor works by placing students inside an AI-supported learning environment they access through their computer. As they navigate the content they are studying, the tool monitors the information they are accessing and for how long. If students start going down the wrong track, the computer 麻豆精品 S檚 AI will recognize this and will begin to help them readjust.
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Azevedo and his interdisciplinary research team are focused on improving student learning outcomes, which is why they are also continuously collecting data about what people are doing and what is happening to them during the learning process.
This includes tracking their eye movements across the screen, monitoring their facial expressions of emotions and interactions and dialogue with the four avatars. The team also monitors the physiological responses of each participant during complex learning.
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The tool is currently designed to teach college students about human body systems, but knowledge gleaned from researching it as a learning tool could be applied to educational material for other fields as well. Research has focused on college students but could eventually include testing the system with high school and middle school students as well as medical professionals.
Work on MetaTutor began in 2010, and the research has been supported with National Science Foundation grants through the years that total $4 million, as well as funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
Azevedo 麻豆精品 S檚 research has shown that 73 to 86 percent of people who use the AI-based version of MetaTutor outperform people who use the non-AI based version that does not adapt to the user.
A version of MetaTutor is currently being used in Spain to teach college students with learning disabilities, and Azevedo says there are plans to expand its reach, including designing a version for high school and middle school students to fit their curriculum needs.
Azevedo received his doctorate in educational psychology from McGill University and his postdoctoral training in cognitive psychology at Carnegie Mellon University. He received his master 麻豆精品 S檚 in educational technology and bachelor 麻豆精品 S檚 in psychology from Concordia University. Azevedo is the lead scientist in UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 Learning Sciences Cluster and has joint appointments in UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 . He joined UCF in 2018.
